Chapter 29

Jay

“I’ve been waiting for you all morning. It must have been a good night for you to be arriving so late to the office.”

Mitchell greeted Jay in his office, which was a welcome relief. For the first time since he could remember, he was late to work after finding it nearly impossible to fall asleep, trying to understand Kasey’s swift departure after their great evening together.

“You sure are energetic,” he tried to deflect, unsure of how his business partner would take the news.

“So, how is she? Kasey’s not the type to let anything stop her, but Renee can be an overwhelming boss. How’s she holding up?”

Jay paused, unsure of how to answer the question. His only understanding of Kasey’s working relationship he’d heard straight from Renee’s mouth.

“Renee’s given her a lot of freedom. She barely comes into the office at all,” he recalled from his meeting with the enemy.

“Well, there’s no reason to over there. They barely have a creative team, hardly ever investing in the development of their writers,” Mitchell huffed, always aware of the inner workings of Rockwell Publishing.

“Right. So, she’s practically a freelance agent, paying Renee a percentage,” Jay continued.

“She told you this?” Mitchell asked, stunned.

“Not exactly. She wasn’t that forthcoming, but Renee told me everything I needed to know when I went to her office,” Jay explained.

“Well, what did Kasey say at the meeting?”

“We were going to go to dinner, but she wanted to see my house, so we went back there and I ordered in from that Thai restaurant we went to for your birthday last year. She liked it,” Jay smirked, recalling how much Kasey seemed to enjoy the meal he chose for her.

Jay noticed Mitchell’s look of anticipation, awaiting a different type of response.

“She’s so much different than I thought. There’s something about her, Mitchell. I can’t explain it, but she makes me feel different, unlike any other woman I’ve been with.”

Letting his guard down, Jay talked to the only person he could trust, sharing his growing feelings for Kasey. He had yet to analyze the conflicting thoughts on his own, unable to face the way he felt in its entirety. But with Mitchell forcing him to talk about Kasey, he couldn’t stop the words from flowing.

“It’s like it was meant for her to leave Passions just so I could get to this point—able to get to know her personally without the burden of being her boss, as well,” Jay looked up towards the vaulted ceilings as if a lightbulb revelation was flickering above him.

“So, wait. Was this a personal or professional meeting?”

“Mitch, I can’t even be sure. I intended for it to be a professional one. I had to cash in a few favors to get the reservation for dinner, but then she suggested takeout on the way,” Jay faded away as if something was just beginning to make sense.

“It was like she never intended to go to dinner at all. Honestly, she initiated everything,” he shook his head as the memories of the night flooded his mind, bringing a smile to his face.

“Was there any business talk at all? You know we still need her here,” Mitchell reminded him of the obvious.

“Now that I think of it, we never got to the point of talking shop. It was just a good night,” Jay raised his hands, trying to justify what he knew to be a failure on his part. Except, worse yet in his mind, was that he didn’t regret one second of his night with Kasey.

“Are you serious?” Mitchell sounded upset, yet the smile on his face said otherwise.

“Yes. No. I don’t know,” Jay ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. “We were relaxing, talking about our careers, and then I got to telling her about Thailand—she’s never been! I invited her out to the beach house, but I don’t think she’ll go,” Jay looked up as Mitchell threw his head back.

“Are you laughing?”

Mitchell’s chest heaved before he lifted his head back, his face as red as a beet. “All these years, I’ve waited for this day. This is definitely not the ideal time for you to lose your cool, but from the way you’re blabbering on, talking about a bunch of nothing, I’d have to think you’re long gone, my friend.”

“What are you talking about?” Jay subconsciously stopped ruffling his perfectly styled hair, as he straightened his shoulders, hoping to shift the mood.

“Oh, you’ve gone too far to turn back now. Tell me her favorite color,” Mitchell teased.

“It was just a lot to catch up on, Mitch. I’m going to call and set up another meeting—maybe this time during the day, and in a public setting for sure. I’m still focused on the business.”

Jay wasn’t lying, but it was far from the whole truth. He didn’t want Kasey working for Renee, if for no other reason than his doubt that Renee could truly understand and value a talent like Kasey possessed. She was special, both in and out of the publishing world. Although Mitchell seemed to pick up on it, Jay was attempting to conceal his other reasons for wanting another date with Kasey. A different part of him came alive when he was around her, a part of him he hadn’t seen in many years. It was refreshing.

“Sure you are. I won’t hold my breath on that one, Jay,” Mitchell laughed as he made his way out of the office, just as Jessica made her way in, holding a white mug.

“Here you are—uh, Mr. Canton,” she announced herself, taken aback by Mitchell’s laughter. It wasn’t every day she saw her bosses behaving so candidly.

“Thank you, Jessica.” Jay took the coffee, shaking his head at his departing friend.

“Is there anything else?”

“Yes. Please get Kasey Wright on the line,” he requested, noting how her eyes lit up at the sound of Kasey’s name. The entire office had been sad to see her go, and Jay felt a renewed sense of determination to get Kasey back to Passions Publishing. Not only to prove Mitchell wrong, or to get to spend more time with her, but because he finally realized the extent of the positive impact she’d had on the company.

“I have Kasey Wright,” Jessica announced through the intercom.

Taking a deep breath, Jay lifted the receiver to his ear, forcing his engrained confidence to sound through in his booming voice.

“Kasey, how are you?”

“Hey, Jay. I’m pretty busy,” she answered, sounding pre-occupied.

Jay wondered if Renee had increased her workload after their meeting. The idea was unsettling. “I won’t take too much of your time. I just wanted to set up another meeting. I had a great time last night, but we never did get to discuss the business at hand.”

He was smiling, remembering what got in the way of their business talk when Kasey halted his thoughts with a dismissive tone.

“I can’t, Jay. I’m swamped with work. I’ll call you when my schedule opens up.”

The words were rushed, and before he could reply, the call was ended. Jay sat there, stunned and confused, looking at the receiver as he tried to make sense of Kasey’s behavior. He thought everything went well with their time together, so why was she ignoring him?

Not only would he not have any good news to report to Mitchell, but it seemed he wouldn’t get to spend more time with Kasey, which was even more deflating.

Unable to take rejection lightly, Jay began to brainstorm ways to figure out just where he’d messed up, with the hopes of fixing the misstep. He wanted Kasey—that much he had accepted.

Whether his desire was professional or personal, was a bit murky. But as far as he was concerned, the details could be worked out later. He had a goal, and for Jay Canton, that was enough.